Video visitation connects inmates, families

Oct. 9, 2013
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Allowing inmates greater access to their families has shown in several studies to improve inmatesâ?? behavior in jail and help them readjust when they are released, officials said. / Patrick Semansky, AP

by Regina Zilbermints, The Des Moines Register

by Regina Zilbermints, The Des Moines Register

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Friends and family members of inmates in one Iowa jail can now communicate with their incarcerated loved ones from home through a remote video visitation system that is gaining popularity nationwide.

Remote visitation allows would-be jail visitors to talk to inmates from any computer with a high-speed Internet connection using a system similar to Skype.

Polk County Jail inmates and visitors began using the new system Monday. It's the first of its kind in Iowa.

"The intent was to try and create some advantages for folks that have to leave work or come on weekends and drive long distances to visit family members in the jail," said Doug Phillips, the jail chief at the Polk County sheriff's office.

Kenzie McHugh used the system for the first time Wednesday to visit a friend who is in jail awaiting trial on charges of operating while intoxicated and interference with official acts. She said she usually visits the jail twice a week.

"I liked it a lot," she said of the new system. "It was really convenient."

Visitors to the jail already communicate with inmates through a video system in the lobby of the building. But that system is five years old, antiquated in technology time, Phillips said.

Allowing visitors to use a similar set-up from home minimizes wait time for visits; allows families who live outside the metro area to avoid long drives to the jail; and expands the available visitation time by about 57 hours a week, he said.

The biggest selling point is that it allows children to visit with incarcerated parents without the stress and trauma of being brought to a jail facility, Phillips said.

For the sheriff's department, the system will take less manpower to manage than on-site visits. Phillips estimated several hundred visitors arrive at the Polk County Jail each week. About two years ago officials expanded visiting hours to the weekends to keep up with demand.

The average daily population in the Polk County Jail's in 2013 is 988; the average length of stay is 46 days.

Allowing inmates greater access to their families has shown in several studies to improve inmates' behavior in jail and help them readjust when they are released, officials said.

Phillips said that's proves true in Polk County as well.

"The more opportunities folks have to connect with their families, the fewer issues we have in-house," he said.

The system cost $188,000 but the county paid nothing upfront. Officials will repay the company, iWebVisit.com, through fees for using the visitation system. Nine other agencies nationwide use iWebVisit.com and a 10th is in the process of installing the system; however, other companies also provide similar systems, officials said.

Polk County inmates can have two 30-minute visits a day through the system, as opposed to two 20-minute in-person visits per week.

Each 30-minute online visit costs friends and family $11 and attorneys or other official users $25.

Visits with friends and family will be monitored, officials said. Visits with attorneys will not be.